The bridge, IKS Hegh'Ta

Not completely pleased with the orders he'd just received, Captain Kay'vin growled as he shut down the comm unit. On one hand, it would be good to see his old friend again, enjoy his company on the trip to Earth, and to spend a little time on that planet. He liked Earth and always appreciated a chance to visit. Still, he did not appreciate being diverted away from his long-term mission and put on courier duty. Hegh'Ta was a fighting ship, not a taxi service, and despite its newness and experimental nature, it was already gaining an honourable reputation, and their enemies were learning to fear the name Hegh'Ta.

The second ship to bear that name, Hegh'Ta was the first of the new Hunter class of birds-of-prey, developed especially for the Dominion war. Kay'vin had been in command of her for almost two years now. Was it really that long, he wondered, since he'd brought his previous ship, the Death Hand, limping into port after an encounter with a Jem'Hadar scout ship, damaged beyond repair but miraculously just about space-worthy enough to get them home. The enemy had not fared so well, he thought with satisfaction. Death Hand had lived up to its name and ended its working life in a glorious battle that had left its opponent utterly destroyed.

At two hundred and fifty metres in length Hegh'Ta was larger and more powerful than Death Hand, although still smaller and more manoeuvrable than the great battle cruisers. Officially, the ship had a crew complement of sixty as well as a detachment of one hundred marines – In reality, thanks to a lack of trained, experienced personnel caused by the ongoing war, he'd been given only fifty crew and eighty marines. Over time, however, the constant guerilla fighting in which Hegh'Ta specialised, had whittled down their numbers to significantly less – as of the last fight, forty-one crew and sixty-two marines.

Kay'vin frowned at the thought. His bridge officers were young, most of them barely out of school, and while they were full of enthusiasm and willing to fight, they were also inexperienced. A heavy sigh followed the frown. Un-Klingon as the thought was, maybe the break from battle was a good thing. He would use his time wisely, he decided, and run some intensive training drills, anything and everything he could think of to improve their battle skills and give them a better chance of victory.

Getting to his feet, Kay'vin stopped for a moment to glance at the holo of his mate. The image had been taken in Hegh'Ta's engine room. Her long, luxuriant hair tied back out of the way in a messy ponytail and wearing a formfitting black jumpsuit, she'd been kneeling on the deck having just emerged from underneath a console she had been repairing. Despite the dark smudge of something that may or may not have been oil on her cheek, and the annoyed glare she had directed at him, not being at all pleased with him for photographing her at that moment, he still thought she looked beautiful.

Was she thinking of him, he wondered? Was Marla missing him as much as he missed her? His gaze slid across the desk to the second image, this one not a holo but an old-fashioned photograph of them both. It had been taken by Chrissie on their wedding day using that primitive imaging device she was so fond of and printed on real paper. He rather liked his friend's wife. She might be human, but she'd proven herself to be a worthy mate for a Klingon warrior.

He reached out and touched the picture, fingers running down the glass that protected the paper and caressing the image of his wife. It was only her engineering skills he missed, he told himself without much conviction; it had nothing to do with her absence from his bed, and he absolutely was not counting down the days until her leave was over and she returned to duty. No, of course not! Marla was bad tempered, insubordinate, and combative… in short, she was glorious, and everything he'd ever wanted in a mate, and yes, he missed her.

Snorting in disgust at his own sentimentality, Kay'vin tore his eyes away from the photograph and strode across the room. The doors slid open, and he stepped onto the bridge, stopping for a moment to survey his crew before issuing his orders.

"Helm, set a course for Starbase 24."

Busy at the science station, Kehlan glanced up just in time to notice the captain's gaze flicking from person to person. Kerrik first, the ship's deputy chief engineer. He wasn't normally on the bridge, but he'd come up a little earlier to run some tests that could not be done from engineering. Kay'vin frowned momentarily at the sight of him, and Kehlan thought she knew why. Kerrik was more than competent; he'd have to be for Marla to have trusted him with her precious engines while she was away, but he was NOT Marla. No doubt, her captain was missing his mate.

Having no issues with his engineer (other than him not being Marla, something for which he could not really be blamed), Kay'vin's expression cleared and his gaze moved onwards, taking on a thoughtful mien as it settled on Kargan, his yaS cha'Dich, who happened to be standing with Kerrik, discussing the ongoing tests. Kargan was young to be third in command of a ship like Hegh'Ta, but they were all young, the older and more experienced officers being either dead or in command of their own ships. For all his youth, Kehlan thought, he'd done well in the role and she both liked and respected him, and if his lack of family connections did not hold him back – they were farmers specialising in the breeding of jackal mastiffs, respectable enough for him to have got into officer school, but not exactly aristocracy – it would probably not be long before he was offered his own command.

In Kehlan's opinion, it was ridiculous the way the Empire put rank and breeding above ability. Had she not been lucky enough to spend time studying first at a Terran university, and later at the Vulcan Science Academy, she knew she might never have questioned it, but the fact was, her time in the Federation had opened her eyes to the inequalities of the system back home. Having grown up in the state orphanage, she too was caught in the trap of Imperial feudalism, held back unfairly from progression through the ranks by her Houseless status. There was nothing for her here in the Defence Force, but war had broken out and like so many others, she had done the honourable thing, put her science career on hold and signed up to fight. What she would do afterwards, she didn't know. Go back to the biosciences maybe, assuming she survived long enough. It was five years since the Dominion attacks had begun and she found it hard to imagine an afterwards.

The captain's gaze was already moving on, and it was Vareq's turn to be scrutinised, although the young gunner, busy running weaponry simulations on his console, was completely oblivious. Like Kargan, he was another one that was far too young, but where the second officer was probably one of the best pilots in the Defence Force, Vareq was the best marksman, and his ability on the shooting ranges was legendary. It was no wonder that despite his youth, he was already the senior gunner, and… and realising that the captain's eyes were turning in her direction, she quickly dropped her eyes back to her console and continued with her work.

If his scrutiny included the yas wa'Dich, Kehlan did not notice, nor did she notice the slight upturn to his lips as he studied her. She was not privy to Kayvin's thoughts on his first officer, but as far as she was concerned, Ch'vok was a spoilt brat who embodied everything that was wrong with the Klingon Empire. Kehlan scowled at her console. She did not like Ch'vok, and certainly did not respect him, although since he was her superior officer… and she almost scoffed at that. Higher ranking maybe, but never superior… she was careful not to show her feelings. A son of one of the highest families in the Empire, he expected everything to be given to him, and usually he got it. Well he would not have her, something she had made very clear to him with a well-placed knee and a warning that next time it would be her d'k tahg. In the Federation, such would not harassment would not be tolerated; luckily, she was well able to defend herself. Still, she was careful and remained on her guard when he was near.

"…course for Starbase 24."

The order was unexpected but welcome. A visit to the Federation starbase was always good; her friend, pretty much the only real friend she had, lived there. She'd met Chrissie Inigan at a horticultural science conference that had been held on the starbase a few years ago and although in many ways they were very different, the two women had hit it off and discovered that they had much more in common than an interest in botany. Since she had joined the Defence Force at the beginning of the war, as was her duty, they did not often get to meet in person, but they'd kept in touch as best they could.

"But Captain, our orders were…"

"We have new orders," Kay'vin interrupted his first officer, his tone casual but at the same time containing a note that warned all those listening that no further argument would be tolerated. The order had been given and would be obeyed.

He crossed the bridge as he spoke and seated himself in the massive, ornate chair that, raised on a dais, dominated the room as though it were a throne… which in a way, Kehlan supposed it was. Certainly no one but the captain would ever sit in it, to do so would be disrespectful and the captain would be within his rights to take it as a challenge. Not that Kehlan had any designs on the chair – it looked anything but comfortable, and that was by design, she knew. Too much comfort led to complacency and the commander of a ship should always be alert and ready for battle. Quite apart from all that, for someone like her to rise to command, while not completely impossible, was unlikely enough that she thought the universe might end before she reached that rank.

Kehlan was female, a half breed, and Houseless, all of which had counted against her, and it had only been her extensive qualifications that had enabled her to avoid being relegated to the ranks of the common soldiers. Basic training had been hard. With war raging across the quadrant, there was no time to train recruits properly, and over the course of three months, they were subjected to a highly condensed version of what had once been a three-year training programme, after which she'd been assigned to the Death Hand.

Despite the training, service on a ship had been a steep learning curve, but thankfully, Kay'vin had been nothing like the academy instructors. Laid back almost to a fault, and with a wicked sense of humour, he had a relaxed, easy-going style of command that was almost unheard of in the Defence Force and was even odder when one considered his twenty-third century origins.

The captain rarely talked about his past, but the return of the IKS T'Ong had been all over the newscasts in both the Empire and the Federation, and sometimes, if he'd had enough to drink and his mood was good, Kay'vin could be persuaded to tell the story.

What must it be like, Kehlan wondered, to sleep for all that time and wake lightyears away from home in a completely different world where everyone and everything you knew were gone, and old enemies were now, if not quite friends, at the very least, respected allies?

Sent out on a long-term and long-range tactical mission, the details of which remained classified, although Kay'vin did say that it had been considered critical to the survival of the Empire, the crew of the T'Ong had spent seventy-five years in cryo-sleep. Discovered deep within Federation territory and within range of thirteen colonies with only minimal defences, the High Council had ordered the ship's destruction. Brutal as that seemed, they'd had good reason. Captain K'Temoc was old-school, a hardened veteran who had fought both Romulans and Terrans. He had an impressive kill record and as far as he knew, the Federation and the Empire were still at war.

When they encountered the Starfleet vessel Enterprise, apparently commanded by a Klingon wearing a Defence Force uniform, K'Temoc had been distrustful – rightly so as it turned out since it had been a trick, albeit a well-intentioned one to prevent unnecessary slaughter – but Kay'vin had managed to persuade him to hold fire and wait for confirmation from the High Council. It had taken every ounce of diplomacy he had, but luckily, the captain had been willing to listen to his first officer and disaster had been averted. To this day, K'Temoc remained in command of the T'Ong and was out there somewhere putting his considerable experience to good use fighting the Dominion. As for Kay'vin, after a period of retraining and orientation, he had been rewarded with a promotion to captain and given the Death Hand. Marla, of course, had gone with him. It was a dream come true, he'd told his audience, slamming down his now almost empty mug of bloodwine on the table with an audible thunk – he had his command and his mate, the only two things he'd ever wanted in life.

In Kehlan's opinion, T'Ong's destruction and the loss of its crew would have been a tragedy, for her especially. The assignment to Death Hand was the best thing that could have happened to her, and when that ship had been scrapped, she'd followed Kay'vin to the Hegh'Ta. Orphaned at a very young age, she did not know who her parents were, but she liked to imagine that her father might have been someone like Kay'vin. As Defence Force officers went, Kehlan mused, her captain was one of the better ones, the best in fact, and she considered herself honoured and privileged to have ended up serving with him.